János Martonyi, President-in-Office of the Council. − Madam President, I very much welcome this opportunity to appear before you to talk about a subject which is of particular importance for the Hungarian Presidency: the Europe 2020 Strategy. Indeed, it is of particular importance for all of us.

It is clear that Europe has to overcome a number of serious challenges if it wishes to remain competitive with the rest of the world. Some of these challenges have been generated by the financial and economic crisis, but some of them are inherent in our limited capacities and determination to fulfil the objectives and targets of the 2010 Lisbon Strategy.

As is often said, crisis can be an opportunity – both in the Ancient Greek and in the Chinese interpretation. It can be an opportunity for a breakthrough, for a solution and to make progress. That is why we believe that the crisis is currently a key factor in motivating Member States to adopt quickly a new European strategy for jobs and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. This is the Europe 2020 Strategy.

I am convinced that this strategy will play an important role in helping Europe recover from the crisis and emerge stronger, both internally and at international level, by boosting productivity, growth potential, social cohesion and economic governance.

This is essential if we are going to be able to remain competitive globally, not least in the face of rapidly growing markets in Asia. It is also essential if we are to maintain the social model, our way of life, which is a key characteristic of Europe, dear to us all, and which we must preserve.

The 2020 Strategy confirmed five EU headline targets which constitute shared objectives guiding the action of Member States and the Union as regards promoting employment, improving the conditions for innovation, research and development, meeting our climate change and energy objectives, improving education levels and promoting social inclusion, in particular through the reduction of poverty.

As part of meeting these targets, the Commission developed and presented seven flagship initiatives containing the actions it proposes to take to strengthen the single market and to boost growth and jobs: the Digital Agenda for Europe, Innovation Union, Youth on the Move, Resource Efficient Europe, an Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era, an Agenda for New Skills and Jobs and the European Platform against Poverty.

For each initiative, both the EU and national authorities have to coordinate their efforts so that action at national and European level is mutually reinforcing.

In December 2010, the first implementation report prepared by the Presidency, in close cooperation with the Commission and the incoming Hungarian Presidency, provided an overview of work undertaken since the launch of the strategy in June. The report highlights the most important work done in the Council, in all its forms, regarding the seven flagship initiatives. Furthermore, the report stresses the technologies progress achieved in the various policy areas which play a major role in the new strategy: the single market, cohesion policy and agricultural policy. It also lists the activities and initiatives that have been conducted at EU level in the last six months as regards the five EU headline targets.

Let me emphasise some important elements concerning economic governance. The implementation of economic governance reform is a fundamental condition for fighting the crisis and boosting the European economy. This is why the 2020 Strategy is closely linked with what is known as the ‘European semester’: a new key instrument of macroeconomic surveillance, to be applied for the first time under this presidency. This new process started in January 2011 with the presentation of the Commission’s annual growth survey.

The Hungarian Presidency is paying particular attention to ensuring that the European semester runs smoothly and successfully. To that end, we will organise a series of debates in all relevant Council meetings in the run-up to the March European Council.

The General Affairs Council has, in particular, been tasked with preparing a synthesis report for its meeting of 21 March, which will set out the main messages on the work being undertaken in the various sectoral councils. This report will be presented to the European Council in March and will form the basis for the discussions, with the aim of agreeing on a set of priorities for structural reforms and fiscal consolidation.

Following on from the March European Council, Member States will finalise the drafting of the national reform programmes and stability or convergence reports, which will be submitted to the Commission in April. After that, work should be taken forward with a view to elaborating country-specific recommendations which the Member States will take into account when finalising their budgets for 2012 and implementing their growth strategies. I recognise that this calendar is very tight, but we hope to complete it by June or July.

The 2020 Strategy is key in ensuring the future economic success of the European Union. It is closely linked to economic governance reform, which will also play a key role. Unless we remain competitive and can secure strong growth in the future, we will find it increasingly difficult both to maintain a sufficiently high level of social protection internally and to bring Europe’s voice to bear on events externally.

This is the major challenge for Europe in the years to come. I am absolutely sure that we can count on the support of the European Parliament to help us deliver.

IN THE CHAIR: JERZY BUZEK President

President. − Mr President-in-Office, thank you for your introductory speech. We are talking about a very important issue: the Europe 2020 Strategy. We are in a crisis and the unemployment rate is very high, which is the biggest threat for our citizens. Employment policy is therefore absolutely crucial, including under the 2020 Strategy. We welcome the Commissioner responsible for that area, Mr László Andor, to the European Parliament.

László Andor, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, as you know, the Commission adopted the first Annual Growth Survey in connection with the Europe 2020 strategy last month. The Annual Growth Survey makes a break with the past and sets in motion the first cycle of economic policy coordination under the European Semester.

The main idea behind the European Semester is very simple: to ensure the stability of economic and monetary union, we have no choice but to carry out ex-ante coordination of economic policies within the EU. The recent debt crisis in some euro area countries illustrates this all too clearly. This more robust and demanding approach shows that the European Union recognises how closely interlinked the Member States’ economies are and how policy choices in one Member State can have an impact on the others.

Managing the European Semester will be a real test for the EU. Strengthening political ownership of the Strategy and local partnerships has been a key priority for us. The challenge now is to demonstrate that the Union can collectively identify the key policy reforms most urgently needed and provide the right policy responses.

The Annual Growth Survey is very clear about the top priorities. It sets out an integrated approach to recovery with 10 priority actions under three main headings: first, a rigorous fiscal consolidation and restructuring of the financial sector to step up macroeconomic stability; second, structural reforms for higher employment; and finally, growth-enhancing measures.

We have taken good note of your concerns on the key messages of the Annual Growth Survey, to the effect that they may seem to depart from the Integrated Guidelines. However, I want to be clear on this. The Commission has deliberately chosen to focus this year’s Annual Growth Survey on the most immediate challenges stemming from the current economic crisis and on the need to frontload the reforms that are necessary for economic recovery and job creation. The Annual Growth Survey is fully consistent with the Integrated Guidelines, including the Employment Guidelines.

I welcome Parliament’s support to the Commission’s proposal to maintain the Employment Guidelines unchanged for 2011. Indeed, it is vital to ensure a stable policy framework until the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 Strategy in 2014 for Member States to have enough time to implement the necessary reforms.

The Employment Guidelines also provide the basis for the draft Joint Employment Report (part of the Annual Growth Survey), which identifies the most urgent measures in the area of employment, including: first, introducing employment-friendly taxation systems, namely by shifting taxes away from labour; second, reducing labour market segmentation; third, removing barriers to balancing private and work life; fourth, supporting unemployed people, through high-quality training and job search services, to get back into work and go into self-employment; and finally, increasing the participation of older workers in labour markets.

More importantly, the Employment Guidelines will form the basis for possible country-specific recommendations which the Council may address to Member States on the basis of Article 148 of the Treaty.

The Annual Growth Survey provides the basis for discussion at the Spring European Council in March and for the economic policy guidance to be addressed to the Member States. The Commission expects the Member States to take this guidance into account when they draft their stability or convergence programmes and the national reform programmes under the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The Commission will examine the national reform programmes, which are due in the second half of April. On the basis of that examination and in line with the Treaty, we will propose country-specific policy guidance and recommendations that Member States should take into account when finalising their budgets for 2012. The policy guidance and recommendations should be adopted by the Council before the summer.

Let me close by stressing the importance of your role in the successful implementation of Europe 2020 and specifically the seven flagship initiatives. Your role as co legislator is fundamental to their successful implementation. Setting the right framework conditions is vital if we are to meet the Europe 2020 targets. Discussion of the new multiannual financial framework will start soon. The Commission will present its proposals by June. Your role as a budgetary authority together with the Council will be crucial to ensuring that the Europe 2020 priorities are reflected in the EU budget. If we are to be credible we need to make sure our financial priorities are in line with our strategies and political priorities.

At a time of fiscal constraints, it is more important than ever to show that the EU has added value and that a euro spent at EU level can have a greater impact than a euro spent at national level.

To ensure the success of Europe 2020 we need political ownership at all levels. Only if everyone plays their part can we achieve our objectives and set the right course for future growth.

Sharon Bowles, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. − Mr President, we are moving into a new era of economic governance. The European Semester offers a structure into which the existing tools of the Integrated Guidelines, provided for under Articles 121 and 148 of the Treaty, should be incorporated, with the strong involvement of Parliament.

Looking wider, it is in the Semester that monitoring of the Stability and Growth Pact and macroeconomic surveillance can join up with the EU 2020 Strategy and the Integrated Guidelines. This means that the Semester can provide a coherent framework for the various economic governance processes in the Union in a mutually enhancing fashion. More broadly, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs emphasises that economic governance must be based on the Community method. Processes must be transparent and accountable if they are to connect with, and have the support of, citizens. This mandates the involvement of Parliament.

Where Parliament already has been given a role, it must have the time required to fulfil its democratic mandate. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs stands shoulder to shoulder with the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs in pursuing that demand.

Lena Ek, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, a year ago we debated here in this Chamber what actions were necessary to tackle the global financial crisis. At the time, some of my Group’s proposals on economic governance were dismissed as too ambitious and too far-reaching, but today I am happy to note that several of our suggestions are realities.

Today, however, there is a significant gap between the ambitions declared in the EU 2020 Strategy and the financial resources needed to attain the goals. In the draft 2012 budget, the Commission needs to clarify, clearly identify and make visible the expenditure related to the Strategy. This is also true for the upcoming revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework.

I would also like to address the Member States directly. There is a clear unwillingness in the Council among the Finance Ministers – including my own, Anders Borg from Sweden – to invest in the future. National budgets need to reflect the Council’s stated ambitions, and EU projects need budgets if they are ever to happen. Mark my words, without the money in the right place there will be no growth and jobs strategy, and we risk failure.

I therefore urge the Commission to come forward with more concrete legislative proposals and the Member States to show more commitment. We need binding commitments to reach headline targets and legislation in key job-creating areas, such as energy efficiency targets at a common European level. Existing initiatives, such as the Strategic Energy Technology Plan, the Lifelong Learning Programme and the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, have already been adopted, but you in the Council failed to bring the money to the table. We need financing of these projects. They all have the potential to create jobs and growth.

With our 2020 resolution, the ALDE Group sends a strong message to the Council that the current governance structure is too weak, the method of open coordination has failed and the Community method should be restored. I applaud the huge majority behind the joint resolution. This is a strong message from the Parliament that we need action.

Philippe Lamberts, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, you know that the Greens are strong supporters of a more integrated Europe in order to be able to ensure sustainable development for our citizens, but also in order to ensure the possibility of Europe to mean something on this planet in the 21st century.

Malcolm Harbour, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, my group has signed, and will support, this resolution. I am not saying we agree with everything in it, but we endorse the core passage. I want to put this to both Commission and Council and will read out the headline that we have agreed: ‘A bold single market act and small business act to create jobs’.

Now where are the jobs going to come from? They are going to come from private investment enterprise and new business start-ups. We already know that small enterprises have been the main engine of job creation over the last decade. My message to both the Commission and Council today is that all 27 Member States have got to start taking job creation enterprise seriously at the level of the single market. We all believe in the single market and Member States have invested huge amounts of money and resources in opening up the services market, but have they told their businesses about it? Have they promoted the single market? Have they encouraged enterprise? Have they encouraged online trading?

Why do they not get down to doing these practical things to unleash the power of what we already have, alongside all the other projects that my colleagues have talked about? They need to start on that tomorrow, today even, rather than talk about some of the other longer-term projects. They should get down to work!

Elizabeth Lynne (ALDE). - Madam President, if we want the EU 2020 Strategy to be a success, then the Employment Guidelines have to be implemented effectively, and national reform programmes put in place and given the priority they actually deserve.

We have to make sure that no one is left behind. Unemployment rates among older people and disabled people are disgracefully high. I am pleased that both texts refer to the need to implement anti-discrimination laws in the workplace so that jobs are open for all.

It is important that the targets we have agreed at EU level are actually achieved. Yes, it is up to Member States to set specific targets and adhere to them, but the European Union has an important role to play in improving the exchange of best practice. That is why I am pleased that paragraph 27 of the committee resolution makes this very clear.

We have had months of introspection and debates about what shape the EU 2020 Strategy should take, but we have the Employment Guidelines. Now is the time to start delivering on them.

Danuta Maria Hübner (PPE). - Madam President, my reading of the reality of today and of tomorrow is that European jobs will be sustainable only if they are underpinned by a competitive economy, and it is no secret that this not one of our strong points.

To be successful on competitiveness in Europe, we need an institutionalised competitiveness process. We have to identify success factors and we also have to see how to tailor them to the situation. We already have a large number of instruments – competitiveness-related instruments – indeed, with a little bit of political will, we can use a substantial part of the institutional framework to launch a Commission-led competitiveness process based on the Community system.

I am referring here to the European Semester, the growth survey that has already been mentioned. I could also mention imbalances and precision – especially in the scoreboard, which should include structural competitiveness-related factors. There is also the 2020 Strategy, which should be vigorously implemented now and not after 2013. All policies should contribute to improving the competitiveness of the European economy: we need all hands on deck and decoupling Europe’s core from the rest of it would simply generate a divided Europe. Sustainable jobs can only be created if Europe sticks together.

László Andor, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, I would like to thank Members for this very substantial, inspirational and stimulating discussion. I would like to answer all the major points that have been raised as questions or comments and observations concerning the annual growth survey, the Economic Semester and Europe 2020 in general.

The most important thing is that we get the picture right, both about the documents and also about the economic situation in the European Union. The inconvenient truth is that Europe is experiencing a recovery. Last year we already had economic growth in the European Union – but not in every Member State – and that is where the second part of the inconvenient truth comes. We are experiencing a very fragile and divided recovery. The Commission has looked at this situation very thoroughly and developed policies accordingly.

We need to maintain and strengthen the recovery, and we have to address the current division. This will not, however, be possible without addressing the weaknesses that have been exposed by the crisis in economic and monetary union, which we will do by developing further the architecture of economic and monetary governance in the European Union. That is where the complications begin and where it may be true that the priorities are not always immediately recognised by everyone.

For us, economic growth is the priority and all other policies in this phase serve this. We need to strengthen growth and make it more robust, but in order to do this we need a greater level of financial stability, and for that we also need fiscal consolidation. It is inevitable that, in the coming years, fiscal consolidation will remain on the agenda in the interests of stabilisation and of being consistent with the kinds of cyclical intervention which the Member States implemented against the recession in previous years.

We need a smart consolidation which does not undermine demand in the economy and which preserves the integrity of the EU economy as a whole. This lesson has to be learned. This must begin by stabilising the euro. I could obviously use stronger expressions here, but let us just stick to this one. We need to stabilise the euro and economic and monetary union. The lesson we share is that, in order to do that, we need to strengthen the economic leg of this Union and the economic leg of policy coordination at European level.

Let me just ask a question and leave it as a question on this. The question is whether the strengthening of the economic leg of governance can succeed without a collective effort on wages, on coordinating wage developments in the European Union. When I say that, and when we include suggestions in this area in the annual growth survey, it does not mean that we would question the importance of the social dialogue – quite the contrary. We have praised countries with a tradition and culture of strong social partnership. We recognise that they suffered less from the crisis and, in particular, suffered fewer losses in terms of human resources. Unemployment remained lower in these countries. We advocate the strengthening of social dialogue in other Member States which have suffered more and which responded to the crisis with less flexibility than countries like Germany, the Netherlands or Austria.

We have also increased the level of social dialogue at European level. We recently held macroeconomic dialogue with the social partners and we will have a new tripartite social forum in March in order to enhance coordination and dialogue with the social partners.

I would like to reject very categorically the notion that the Commission is doing business as usual. In the last year the Commission has introduced a number of qualitatively new initiatives. We are pursuing a robust agenda for Financial Regulation. Commissioner Barnier’s work should not be underestimated.

As part of Europe 2020, we outlined a new concept for industrial policy at European level which does much more for competitiveness and the sustainability of jobs in the European Union. We are pursuing a number of innovative approaches to boost investment and to find funding for it. A group of Commissioners has been working to develop innovative financial instruments. The first example of this is going to be an outline for supporting developing energy networks in Europe. This is absolutely necessary in order to develop the energy markets and the necessary infrastructure that is vital for it.

We have launched the microfinance facility. I am grateful to Parliament and the Council for the final consensus that made this possible last year. Just last week I was present in the Netherlands at the launch of the first EU-supported microfinance facility and there are more in the pipeline in order to support potential entrepreneurs, perhaps after the experience of being unemployed: women coming back to the labour market after childbirth or people who have already been working and want to seek a new form of enterprise beyond 50, or even 60.

When we discuss employment policies – and a good example of this was a couple of weeks ago when the EPSCO Council was hosted by the Hungarian Presidency in Gödöllő – we focus on how to generate job-rich goals, but also on the groups in most difficulty. In this case I must mention in particular young people.

Youth unemployment is very dramatic in some Member States. Again we have to be aware of diversity. Luckily, there are some Member States where youth unemployment is low, but the European average is too high. In some Member States, like Spain and the Baltics, it is at a tragic level. The governments have been alerted and a complex set of policies, from education to employment services and other types of measures, is required. But youth is not the only problem group. It is true that we have to do more with regard to the employment of older workers. That is why we designated 2012 the European Year for Active Ageing.

On the institutional questions concerning the employment guidelines – which I believe continue to be our focus and provide guidance and substance – there is a clear role for the European Parliament under Article 148 of the Treaty. The employment guidelines are to be renewed. This is confirmation that we want them to continue until 2014; they should neither be subject to major changes nor overruled by annual growth surveys. The guidelines provide long-term orientation, while the growth survey is an annual exercise that concerns its substance. But it is obviously true that the NRP exercise is crucial and that the Commission is pursuing it very seriously in the context of Europe 2020. Parliament will be involved in the discussions in various ways. I should refer here to the multiannual financial framework negotiations. The EU budget also has to reflect 2020 priorities and we will keep Parliament informed about the preparation of the national reform programme as the country-specific recommendations develop.

It is clear that there is concern at this early stage about the future of Europe 2020. In a way, a spectre is haunting Europe 2020: that of the Lisbon Strategy. I have had many opportunities in this House to discuss why we believe there is a much better chance, through a more focused system of targets and also a more focused system of reporting and implementation, of success with Europe 2020.

Only the Commission can ensure that there is consistency between these initiatives. We have a number of balls in the air and we have to make sure that none of them falls while conducting economic policies: Europe 2020, economic governance, the single market and cohesion policy. None of them must be damaged in this exercise. All of them need to be pursued in a very robust way, ensuring that all 27 Member States are involved. The Commission is obviously against the concept of a two-speed Europe. We have to ensure that the divided recovery which we are experiencing does not turn into political divisions in the coming period.

János Martonyi, President-in-Office of the Council. − Madam President, first and foremost I would like to thank you all for the very constructive and useful debate. I also would like to extend my special thanks to Mrs Perez for her excellent report and the very important observations and criticisms that she made.

We may have a different reading of the reality, as referred to by Mrs Danuta Hübner, both for a crisis and for the recovery, but I believe that we all agree on one point, and that is that nobody is interested in a jobless recovery. We are all striving for a balance between fiscal consolidation and growth and job creation. Indeed, fiscal discipline and the raising of employment levels should go hand in hand.

On a more general note, on economic issues, we all know that now we have a comprehensive approach, a comprehensive ‘package’ or ‘Gesamtpaket’, as some people say, most of the elements of which have just been referred to by Commissioner Andor. As far as the Presidency is concerned, I would just like to underline again that we have to focus upon two of all the elements of the package. One is certainly the implementation and the application of the European Semester. This is the first time, it is the first exercise. It will have a major impact on the subsequent development of the whole European integration process.

Just to mention two things briefly. One is that we have a very tight schedule, so the deadlines must be respected by all, and the headline targets will have to be achieved. We have to make all possible efforts to ensure that the overall deadlines are met through the contributions of the individual Member States, in the fields both of employment and innovation, and of energy.

Let me just mention, about energy, that there was a very successful meeting of the European Council on 4 February. For many of us it represented a kind of breakthrough, both for the establishment of the integrated energy market and for energy efficiency. Important decisions were also made with respect to the external aspects of the common energy policy.

Last but not least, I would just like to mention the fight against poverty, the fight for social inclusion. In this respect, I would like to congratulate you on the resolution you have just adopted on Roma integration. I would like to extend my very special congratulations and thanks to Lívia Járóka, who played a decisive role in the preparation of the report, and also in the adoption of this extremely important resolution, which will be very helpful for us when we work on and finalise the European framework strategy for Roma integration.

The other element we want to concentrate upon is the six legislative texts. Here I would like to assure Sylvie Goulard that we do not only want to listen to Parliament. We indeed would like to have, and we have to make, an agreement with Parliament under the terms of the ordinary legislative process. We will have to do everything possible so that this process is accelerated and can be successfully concluded by the end of the Hungarian Presidency.

I do not want to get into the other elements of the comprehensive package. I would just like to underline one thing. The Council wants to fully respect the Community method. We have no reservations whatsoever in this regard. As we said many times before, the Lisbon Treaty changed many things. There were major shifts in competences. We all know about them. But the Treaty of Lisbon did not change the heart of the European architecture and this is the Community method. We will strictly abide by that. Of course, we always have to be in line with the Treaty. I would just like to refer to the fact that if you read carefully the conclusions of the European Council of 4 February, you will find there that everything must be in line with the Treaty.

Now my last remark is very short. It is about the money. As was pointed out by Lena Ek, policies need money and policies need financing. I could not agree more. But we know very well that there are divergences in the approaches of the Member States. At this point in time I would just like to underline one thing from the point of view of the Presidency: we warmly suggest that first we discuss the substance and thereafter discuss the figures and the monies and the resources. There will be a long debate. We will have very useful orientation debates on cohesion policy, on energy policy, on agriculture and so on, but, as is said sometimes,

Il ne faut pas mettre la charrue avant les bœufs.

So, all in all, we would really like to help all these debates and then come to the real debate, the final debate about the resources. Again, I would like to congratulate you all and thank you very much for the guidance we have received.

Rovana Plumb (S&D), in writing. – The EU 2020 strategy should help Europe recover from the crisis and come out stronger, through jobs and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth based on five EU headline targets as regards promoting employment. A strong social protection system, investment in active labour market policies and education and training opportunities for all are essential to reduce unemployment and prevent long term exclusion. The flexicurity is not applicable in Member States with low possibilities of strengthening social protection systems due to budget restrictions and macroeconomic imbalances, as in Romania, and I consider that reducing labour market segmentation has to be achieved by providing adequate security for workers under all forms of contracts. Any labour market reforms must be introduced by reaching a high degree of social consensus through agreements with the social partners at national and EU level. A legislative agenda is essential to eradicate the existing pay gap between women and men by 1% every year in order to achieve the target of 10% reduction by 2020. The EU 2020 strategy should include a target of reducing poverty amongst women in the EU as 17 % of the women are classed as living in poverty, mostly single mothers, immigrants and older women.

Zita Gurmai (S&D), in writing. – The EU 2020 Strategy is one of the most important projects we've created, yet, there is no guarantee of its success. We should include gender equality in all targets, flagship initiatives and national reforms – and women should be considered in all policy areas. The open method of coordination is a weak means to carry out common goals, therefore results will only come if there is real commitment!

The EU 2020 Strategy's employment targets call for an increase in women's employment. This, the reconciliation of work and family life and the elimination of gender stereotypes in the labour market are a must. We need to involve more women in vocational training, the sciences and educational fields that have been until now considered as 'masculine'. We have to end the gender-based segregation of the labour market, especially when it comes to the new green jobs.

Fully including women to the labour market is a way to put an end to the demographic crisis. If we provide secure and decent work, the means to reconcile work and family life and if we manage to include men more intensively in household duties, then all studies show that women would be more willing to bear children.

Lena Kolarska-Bobińska (PPE), in writing. – The Euro 2020 Strategy is about economic growth and employment. We must remember that a smart energy system is the future both in terms of the environment and these jobs. Such a system would allow us to decouple economic growth from energy consumption. If this will be the case, we will be able to produce more for the same or less energy consumption and create thousands of jobs which can not be outsourced. We have to make sure that smart energy does not remain a dream. We are building today a whole new energy infrastructure in Europe. We have to ensure this lessens the divide between Western and Central Europe in terms of sustainable jobs. A two-speed Europe on energy will not solve energy poverty or inefficiency. We should give a helping hand to those regions which are behind, even if it is not easy in today’s economic realities. We need a smart energy system for all European citizens at the same time. We must prevent a piecemeal system where some citizens only see the future 50 years after the others. Simply put, we need smart energy jobs for all Europeans, not just for those who would have received them even without Europe.

Alexander Mirsky (S&D), in writing. – Straight away after the entry of Latvia to the EU, the Latvian government decided that for the allocation of resources from EU funds it was enough to declare Latvia to be one region. (Poland is divided into 16 regions).

As a result, one of the 4 regions of Latvia – Latgale – remains one of the most unprotected. Application of funds in Latgale is many times less efficient than in Latvia as a whole. This situation is reflected on the labour market of Latgale. While the unemployment rate in the capital city of Latvia (Riga) is 8-9%, in Latgale it is 20-25%. European employment programs are inaccessible to the population of such towns as Livani, Preili, Kraslava, Ludza, Aglona and Dagda.

Instead of solving the issue of organisation and stimulation of production in Latgale, the Latvian government is continuously increasing taxes, which leads to widespread bankruptcy of small and medium-sized companies. To avoid social tension the inhabitants of Latgale are given LVL 100 per month as a sop.

The common policy of the Latvian government has resulted in the emigration of more than 150 000 workers. I appeal to the European Commission for urgent intervention in the situation. It is necessary to work out an Employment Framework for outlying regions of the EU such as Latgale.